Drawn from clay

Dutch design studio Atelier NL are exploring the geography of the Netherlands through the medium of clay. Designers Lonny van Ryswyck and Nadine Sterk spent time on a farm in the Noordoostpolder, collecting clay from different fields and then making vessels from it.

Each of the beautiful pieces has on a different design and texture, depending on where the clay had come from. The designers say that “Together they form a colour scheme of the Noordoostpolder. We discovered that the soil is strongly related to the crops/ vegetables that are grown. In a sandy area they grow mostly bulbs and where there is clay, itâ€™s mostly potatoes and sugarbeet. We decided to make tableware so that the vegetables we eat for dinner are served in vessels made from the soil the vegetables grew in.”

The work is currently on show at Gallery Libby Sellers in London, after which the designers hope to extend the project on a global scale, slowly mapping the colour scheme of our planet’s soil in the creation of beautiful objects.